Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The city of love {San Francisco}

Last week Jon and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary and Valentine's day (both a little late) in San Francisco. I was in San Jose for the first half of the week for a tradeshow for work and Jon met me up there on Wednesday night. The next morning, we rented a car and headed to the city of loveeeeeee.

First stop on the trip was breakfast in Sausilito where Jon ate a salmon omelet...wow. We can't wait to make one at home! Next up, Muir Woods. I had been a couple years ago but Jon had never been. The trees are absolutely amazing! They are so big and old, it is really a beautiful and peaceful place.

It was so cute, there was a group of elementary school aged kiddos coming in for a field trip as we were leaving. They had their books and pencils to write things down and were all so excited. As cute as it was, I am glad we were out of there because they were loud and we loved the peacefulness of the woods.

Oh and Sic Em Bears!

We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and back into the city to check into our hotel. I shared the pics I took via Instagram on Monday but had to re post this one again...

We stayed at the Sheraton on the Wharf and we highly recommend it. Luckily I found a deal where parking and internet was included, normally they really nickel and dime ya ($45 a day for parking!). We were a block away from Fisherman's Wharf which was awesome.

We pretty much ate our way through the city...clam chowder in breadbowls, fish & chips, calamari, and best of all...chocolate. We have this thing when we go on vacation...Jon calls it going "buck wild" which means we eat a lot of dessert. Lunch AND dinner. It is glorious.

The weather was really good...50s-60s and sunny but some major fog. Or smog. Who knows. We were disgusted by the layer of smog over the city when we were in LA this summer (part 1 & part 2). Because of the haze, we couldn't get the best view of the bridge from the Wharf but that's okay.

We bought the 24 hour transportation pass that allowed us access to all trolleys, cable cars and buses...it was a life saver. Parking is a nightmare in San Fran so having that was awesome. We rode the trolleys from start to finish to get a tour of the city (Lombard Street, Nob Hill, etc) and then rode to Union Square to do some shopping. Now I can say this because I live in one of the "weirdest" cities in the US but San Francisco is WEIRDER! There are so many odd people on the streets...homeless, performers, musicians, and just weirdos. San Fran definitely trumps Austin! Oh and I almost forgot to mention our experience on the bus in China town. We hopped on an empty bus at the Wharf to head downtown and even made a comment on how it was nice to have it to ourselves. Little did we know, we would soon pick up about 200 people in Chinatown. We got kicked out of our seats by 2 little old ladies who then continued to talk crap about us in their language (I hate that!!). It reminded me of seeing pictures of the city streets in China how people are literally shoulder to shoulder. Quite interesting.

One of my favorite things about San Francisco is Pier 39. I could watch the seals all day...they are hysterical! Something that surprised us was all the blooming flowers around the city. Seriously they were everywhere! And tons of flower markets, I wish I could take some home with me.

Another highlight of the trip was visiting the Bay Aquarium. Jon is an animal lover and has a big love/interest in fish. It baffles me when he starts naming off the types of fish we see, I think he has a minor in marine biology or something. His dad loved having aquariums in their house growing up which has helped fuel Jon's love for them. He can't wait to have one when we own a home. We want to visit all the big aquariums around the US and this was our 2nd together...we went to Shedd in Chicago in 2010 and then we've each been to a few separately. We had so much fun taking tons of pictures inside. I was enamored by the jellies...seriously memorized. The aquarium had 3 octopus and that was neat to see and learn about. I also got the chance to touch different rays, it was so cool!! It was right before feeding and they were being little hams and splashing around. Jon was cracking up watching me and taking lots of pictures. I am so amazed by marine life!

My all time favorite thing that I've done on any vacation has been Alcatraz! I went on the day tour about 3 years ago but this time around Jon and I went on the extended night tour. We were hoping it would be haunted but it wasn't too scary. We got to see a lot of the "rock" that they don't show you during the day along with extra presentations and videos. Pretty cool.

If you've been reading for a while, you know that Jon loves horror. He loves everything spooky, scary, and Halloween related so it didn't surprise me that he loved Alcatraz, especially at night. He thinks its so funny that I am so obsessed with the whole idea of it. I love reading articles and watching documentaries about "the rock" and love the cheesy Fox show about it. One of the special things we got to do on the night tour was visit the prison hospital. We got to see where 'the birdman' was locked up for 11 years because he was so psycho and had to be confined...talk about creepy! Here is an awesome shot of Jon in the prison operating room...eeeek

After our Alcatraz adventure, we headed to a nice dinner off the Wharf. I showed a few pictures in Monday's post and asked you all where you thought we were (remember the penis shaped cookie?). Turns out we had dinner in the Castro District which is the LGBT neighborhood/area of San Francisco. We kind of noticed a lot of couples at our restaurant but didn't think twice until we talked to our friend. It was funny because when we found out where we were, we instantly noticed the rainbow lights and stickers on the surrounding buildings, restaurants, shops. It was such a fun time and only the Harts would end up in that area and not know it! I've gotta say, we had one of the best meals we've ever eaten at Catch in the Castro District...it was out of this world! :-)

It was such an awesome trip, I love getting away with my hubby. Over the past 2 years we have taken quite a few weekend trips all over the US and definitely want to continue. Why not take 3 small trips a year rather than 1 big trip? We always book flights with points and find great deals on hotels, cars, activities online. Jon and I aren't big shoppers (clothes, electronics, etc) and love the idea of spending money on experiences. I am so glad we are on the same page about that!

Wow so cool! I would love the Alcatraz tour! I love scary things lol I guess I don't like to travel as much because I hate flying lol I have my Xanax for flights. And I am odd. I get tired of eating out too much...lol so when we go on trips I like to rent a house ha! At least have a kitchen so I can still make meals. But our last trip was in Asheville. And I loved it!! So pretty! We did take an extended tour at the biltmore estate and climbed to the very top. Very cool :-)

Looks like you had a blast!!! Zach and I love to travel too but we suck at saving money :( We really need to work on that so we can travel more! :) I love SF .. I think it's one of my favorite places in the US so I am glad to see I'm not alone!

Amazing recap, Ruthie! This makes me long for SF. I went to ALMOST every place you did :) Unfortunately, I wasn't as big of a seafood eater, so I didn't reap the benefits of all this fantastic food. Too bad, because going "buck wild" appeals to me now!

Love the pictures! looks like you had an awesome time :) I've visited San Fran a few times and I love it BUT I have not been fortunate of visiting Alcatraz! my boyfriend also loves haunted and scary stuff, after seeing your post I might have to convince him on a mini vacation ;)

I immediately thought your tree photos were from the Trees Of Mystery, then remembered they are quite a ways from San Fransisco. One aquarium we went to had some sort of shark in a tank that could be "petted" - so much fun to know how they feel. You're making me want to go back to Alcatraz; I'm jealous that you got to see different things at night than we saw during the day. I don't think I could do the night tour though - I get so creeped out by things like that!

I am quickly becoming a huge fan of your posts, and love your quirky attitude. Funny enough, my husband and I were on a trip last week.... to Austin! We live in Missouri, but are planning on moving there in September.

love all the pics!!! looks like you guys had a wonderful time :) love sausalito and the muir woods!! ahh, it is so magical up there!!!!! i think it's so cool we both spent our 1st anniversaries up in SF :) xoxo